Krautkramer



Jan. 31, 1956 A. KRAUTKRAMER 2,732,657

JET DRIVEN AERIAL TOY Filed Nov. 22, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ADAMKRAUTKRAMER Jan. 31, 1956 A, KRAUTKRAMER JET DRIVEN AERIAL TOY FiledNOV. 22, 1952 'llIIIlIlIIII/l! LIL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1N VENTOR ADAMKRAUTKRAMER BY flaw 9 ATTORNEY United States Patent JET DRIVEN AERIALTOY Adair] Krautkriimer, Budenheim (Rhine), Germany Application-November22, 1952, Serial No. 322,077

Claims. (Cl. 46 76 This invention relates to a driving mechanism fortoys.

The development of modern industry has been reflected in many Ways inthe toy industry. In particular, model airplanes in the most variedembodiments have awakened the keen interest of children.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new toy of thiskind. This, and still further objects will become apparent from thefollowing description, read in conjunction with the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a toy airplane in accordance with theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the fuselage of the plane shown in Fig.1-, partially in section;

Fig. 3 :shows a perspective view of the airplane shown in Fig". l,mounted on a starting device in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 4 shows an embodiment of the gas filling means inaceordance withthe invention;

Fig. 5 shows an embodiment of the'airplane shown in Fig. l with aparachute attachment;

Pig. 6 shows a partial section of the nose of the airplane shown in Fig.1 with a detonating device;

Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the airplane shownin Fig. l with a parachute attachthem;

Fig. 8*sh'0ws a diagrammatic side elevation of the parachute attachmenttube shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of a different embodiment of a parachute tubein accordance with the invent-ion;

Fig. 1 0 shows a perspective view of a starting device in 'accordancewith the invention with a number of paral lellypositionedgasfillingdevices;

1 1 shows a cross-section of the tail portion of an embodiment of thetoy airplane shown in Fig. 1*with a re mo'Vable je'toutlet'opening;

Fig. 12 shows a cross-section of a replaceable member with a jet outletopening; and m Fig. 13 shows a front elevation of the disc 8 in Fig. 11.

The invention relates to an airplane which is not-shot off as heretoforecustomary by means of some type of catapult or thrown out or up in someother known-mannor, Zbilt rather compressed air or other gas is utilizedas the drivingforce. The air acts on solid substances or shown liquidsin such a manner that they are expelled from the pressure containerwhich ing. The jet reaction the airplane. v The special advantage ofthis embodiment lies in the elimination of any danger of fire, inasmuchas there does not enter into question in connection with the drive anylighting of any powder train or the like, but merely the inflation witha gas and preferably air, as, for example, by means of a bicycle pump.

The invention will be described in detail with reference to anembodiment of a toy airplane in accordance therewith.

The airplane consists of a fuselage part a bearing the is provided withan outlet openproduced thereby is utilized to drive 2 air foils n andcontrol surfaces 1:. The one tapered end of the fuselage is providedwith a jet-like pipe section b. The fuselage a is developed as a hollowbody and serves to receive the compressed air or other gas and asubstance to be ejected to exert the reactive force. As such substancesthere may be mentioned, by way of example, sand, seeds of the mostvaried kinds, natural or synthetic fine and coarse powders, liquids, aswell as elongated, coherent, ribbon-shaped members consisting, forexample, of rubber. Of these substances, ordinary water is partic'ularlyadvantageous, inasmuch as it is available in sufiicient quantitypractically everywhere and does not cause any additional expense.

In operation, the hollow fuselage member a is partly filled, forexample, with water, with a pipette, syringe, funnel or the like, orthrough an inlet i*g. Thereupon, compressed air is introduced into theremaining part, as by means of an ordinary bicycle pump, so that the airand thus also the water introduced are under a pressure of a fewatmospheres. When introducing the compressed air, the fuselage body isplaced on an air inlet i-g in such -a manner that the end of thefuselage provided with an opening points downward, and a dependable sealbetween the inlet and the outlet opening is obtained. In this way thewater collects in the lower part of the pressure container, the waterbeing under the pressure 'of the air which has been blown in. As soon asa restraining device k which presses the hollow body in a pressure tightmanner against the air inlet and holds it fast, is loosened, the waterdischarges under the air pressure from the opening, and the reactionforce produced thereby acts in an accelerating manner on the airplane.Depending on "the energy content of the compressed air in conjunctionwith the substances exerting the reaction, the toy will be propelledupward to a greater or lesser height. After the cessation of the drivingaction, the airplane, for example, when-developed as a glider, willgradually glide to the earth. 7

The apex of the fuselage is provided with a soft, impactabsorbing cap a,for example, of rubber. Ch the apex there can also be provided adetonating device with the use o'f priine'rs. Such a detonating deviceis shown in Fig. 6. d is a'rernovable rubberca which fits over thethemher q in the front of the fuselage. A firing pin 'r is positioned onthe end of a thickened portion s of the rubber cap at. n i "a'detonating cap, such as the type which is used in a childs toy gun andis positioned on the inertiher 1; in back of the striking-or firing pinr, on impact due to the resiliency of the cap, the pin r will strike theexplosive cap n, detonating the same. The gases produced by th'edetonation escape through the openings The cap 11 maybe removed and afresh detonating cap slipped in place and held in'place by the clips-p,

It is possible, furthermore, to provide the toy with a parachute deviceso that the parachute l is automatically opened bythe air current whenthe plane dives and the toy ean be supported by the parachute. For thispurpose, the parachute [can be arranged, for example, in a special tubeIn, which is closed 'while the airplane "is rising and is opened whenthe airplane falls by means of a mechanism actuated, for-example, bygravity.

One embodiment of such "automatically opening parachute tubeisshowninFigs. 7 and 8 of'the drawing. The parachute is "stored in thetube m. This tube at has-"a small auxiliary tube 1 positioned across thetop thereof-g so that the axes of the two tubes are substantiallyparallel. A steel weight ball u is positioned in the auxiliary tube 1.and rolls freely in this tube. The tube m is provided with the cover x,which is urged open by the spring y. The cover x is held in a closedposition by the pawl or catch w, maintained on the spring v. When thesteel ball it rolls forward, it will press the spring v upwardly,

thus releasing the cover x from the catch w, so that the spring y mayopen the same.

In operation, the parachute is placed in the tube m and the cover x isclosed. When the plane reaches its highest position of flight and startsto dive, the steel ball u falls forward and presses the spring v upward,which causes the catch w to release the cover x. The spring y will thusopen the cover x and the air rushing through the tube In will open theparachute and permit the plane to fall slowly to earth.

In accordance with another embodiment for an automatically openingparachute tube of much simpler construction, as shown in Fig. 9, thecover z is freely hinged and carries a weight at its end. As the planeclimbs, the weight holds the cover 2 closed, and as the plane dives, theweight swings the cover 2 open, releasing the parachute.

Many embodiments of the toy are possible. In addition to the shape of aglider, it may have the shape of a flying saucer, a pursuit plane, aspace ship, and the like.

Although up to the present time mention has been made only of toys, thesame principle can also be used for industrial purposes.

The air-filling or starter device consists essentially of an air valveg, such as an ordinary tire valve, with adapter connection i fastened ina holding device 1. In order to obtain the maximum height flight, thisvalve, together with the adapter, is swingable about a horizontal axisand may be retained in the desired position by the wing nut h, so thatthe launching angle which is the most favorable for the specific casecan be obtained. The airplane is placed on the starting device, so thatthe adapter connection i is inserted in the outlet opening or nozzle b.The airplane is retained with the adapter connection 1' in the outletopening b by means of the retaining clip k. The outlet opening b is thuspressure-sealed, and no compressed material can escape, but compressedgas, such as compressed air, can be forced in through the valve g. Whenthe desired amount of air is compressed in the fuselage a, the plane iselevated to the desired angle by loosening the wing nut h, and thentightening it in that position. The clamp k, i. e., the releasableholding means, is then pulled outward and the plane will be releasedwith the air forcing the water through the outlet opening b andpropelling the plane through the air in flight. When the driving forceceases, i. e., when the gas compressed in a reaches the outsidepressure, the plane either glides to a landing and is protected frominjury by the rubber cap d, or is provided with the parachute l and tubem, so when the plane starts to dive, the parachute I will be releasedand the plane dropped slowly and safely to the ground.

It is also possible to fasten a plurality of air inlet valves to asingle starting device, these inlet valves being arranged alongside eachother, as shown in Fig. 10 or in opposite directions.

The use of the inventive concept is not restricted to the detailsrelated in connection with the embodiment shown. In particular, theairplane and the tube section having the outlet opening can be developednot only in the manner shown, but also in any other desired manner.

Thus, for example, the driving mechanism in accordance with the presentinvention can also be used for toy ships and toys of all kinds, in whichconnection the 1:01- low driving body such as a, provided with an outletopening b, is fastened in a suitable manner to the toy or instrument inquestion.

The model toy of the invention can be made of any suitable material,preferably plastic of a clear, colored, or translucent-colored nature.

In order to obtain the most favorable value of the driving force, itis-contemplated to make the dimensions of the outlet opening of thefuselage member adjustable and/or to make the tube section containingthe outlet opening replaceable. Such an embodiment is shown in Figs. 11,12 and 13 of the drawing. The jet outlet opening is defined through atube member 5, which is inserted in the end of the plane fuselage andheld in place by means of the set screw 7. The set screw 7 may beloosened and the tube member 5 removed and replaced with a differenttube member 6, having a different size jet outlet opening definedtherethrough.

In order to make the jet outlet opening adjustable, the bore definingthe jet outlet opening in the tubes 5 or 6 may be made eccentric to thecenter thereof and the tubes may be rotated in the fuselage and held inany desired rotational position by means of the set screw 7. A fixeddisc 8 also provided with an eccentric bore is positioned at the end ofthe plane fuselage for contact with the tube member 5 when the same isinserted and positioned in the fuselage. The disc 8 cannot rotate, andthus, if the tube 5 is rotated, it will rotate in relation to the disc8. Since the bore of the disc 8 and of the tube member 5 are eccentric,the variation of the rotational position of the tube member 5 inrelation to the disc 8 will vary the size of the opening defined throughthe disc 8 to the bore of the member 5. In this manner, by merelyturning the tube member 5, the size of the jet outlet opening may beadjusted.

I claim:

1. In combination, a toy projectile comprising a hollow, pressure-tightbody, a jet outlet opening defined at one end of said body incommunication with the hollow interior, and a launcher therefor carryinga fluid inlet check valve dimensioned to freely detachably fit said jetoutlet opening for the perssure closure thereof, and manually operablereleasable holding means carried by said launcher for releasablyengaging the rear end of said projectile for holding said fluid inletcheck valve in closure contact with said jet opening.

2. Device according to claim 1, in which said hollow body is formed asat least a portion of a toy flying device.-

3. Device according to claim 2, in which said hollow body has aresilient impact cap at the forward tip thereof.

4. Device according to claim 1, in which said fluid in: let check valvehas an adapter extension dimensioned to fit within said jet outletopening.

5. Device according to claim 1, in which said hollow, pressure tightbody is a tear-shaped body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS433,674 Irvine Aug. 5, 1890 1,173,563 Dodd Feb. 29, 1916 1,302,659 HornMay 6, 1919 1,678,047 Johnston July 24, 1928 2,136,067 Witte Nov. 8,1938 2,409,653 Amdur Oct. 22, 1946 2,410,682 Richardson Nov. 5, 19462,545,586 Pollak Mar. 20, 1951 2,588,184 Walsh Mar. 4, 1952 2,611,999Mikolay Sept. 30, 1952

